The state's Hudsonlink bus service debuted Oct. 29, 2018 with high-tech gimmicks and more than a few glitches.
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

South Nyack's Laura Steinberger leaves Grand Central Terminal on Nov. 8, 2018, after commuting via Metro-North and the Hudson Link bus. In nine days of service, Hudson Link's 6:40 bus from Artopee Way downtown Nyack, which Steinberger takes at 6:44 from South Nyack, has only been in service twice.(Photo: Courtesy Laura Steinberger)

NYACK - In the nine days since Hudson Link bus service began between Rockland and Westchester, commuters can count on one hand how many times the promised 6:40 a.m. bus to Tarrytown has shown up at Artopee Way.

Make that two fingers.

South Nyack's Laura Steinberger waits for that bus every morning at Clinton and Broadway, where it should arrive at 6:44 and get her to Tarrytown in time to catch the 7:10 Metro-North train to Grand Central.

Steinberger works in the financial industry not far from Grand Central.

"For me, the difference between 7:10 and the 7:22 Tarrytown train connection is arriving at the office at 8:10-15 vs. 8:30-35," Steinberger said. "When there was a 6:28 Tappan Zee Express I could get to the office before 8 when I needed to."

The slick Hudson Link app — where riders can watch icons of buses on their routes in real time — clearly lists two buses from Nyack to Tarrytown weekdays between 6 and 7 a.m.: at 6:40 and 6:53.

Only one of those, the 6:40, can make it to Tarrytown by 7:10. And only if it shows up.

"Today is the ninth day of service and in that time we have only made the 7:10 train connection twice," Steinberger said. "Every other day we've had to wait for the 6:57 or even later. The first day was much worse than that."

Two buses to White Plains, none to Tarrytown

That first day, Oct. 29, was when the state-DOT-hired company TransDev took over the Rockland-Westchester bus service, which had been run as the Tappan Zee Express by Rockland's Transportation Department.

On that first day, angry commuters convinced a neon-vest-wearing TransDev "ambassador" to reroute a bus that was scheduled to go to White Plains to Tarrytown instead.

Nyack resident Isabel Fredricks was there that morning and heard a fellow commuter erupt at the TransDev man, shouting: "Your buses smell nice, but your service stinks."

Change brings uncertainty and frustration, but TransDev's schedule hasn't helped, Fredricks said. And no one seems to have the power, or will, to fix it.

"I wait for the 6:40, which never shows up. Then at 6:33, two buses to White Plains show up at the same time. One leaves with two passengers. The other one is empty. They have to be empty if people want to go to Tarrytown and the bus to Tarrytown won't show up."

By the time the 6:53 to Tarrytown arrives, the riders are not happy.

"We yell at the driver, who we know because he used to drive the old buses and he's like 'I'm on time! I'm supposed to be 6:53, not 6:40.' The 6:40 just doesn't show up."

When the 6:53 arrives, Fredricks said, it is packed with angry riders.

"It was like two buses of people waiting," she said. "The bus was completely full. Every seat was taken."

Asked about the lack of a 6:40 bus on Thursday, TransDev's Andrea Caccuro would say only: "I have already been notified of this situation, we are currently researching what happened this week."

She did not answer questions about whether the 6:40 bus was still in service, if the app would be changed to reflect that the bus is not in service, or if it's a matter of TransDev not having enough drivers or any other questions.

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On the first day of the Hudson Link bus service between Rockland and Westchester on Oct. 29, 2018, commuters hoping to get to Tarrytown from Lot J at the Palisades Center stand alongside an idling bus that was heading to White Plains.(Photo: Peter D. Kramer/The Journal News)

Beyond 'first-day confusion'

South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian said she has heard plenty from constituents and not the right things from TransDev and the DOT. She said she has enlisted the aid of legislator Nancy Low-Hogan.

"This has got to stop. We have commuters that need to get to work on time," Christian said. "Anybody can understand first-day confusion, but to be in the ninth day and people missing trains and not getting to work on time is unacceptable."

Christian said when she spoke with TransDev, she was told "they're working on it, they're sorry" and "it's all going to be straightened out."

"In the beginning, they said there was a miscommunication with some of their other vendors. But we're nine days into this. It's beyond what you can ask of your commuters at this stage."

DOT spokesman Glenn Blain offered the following comment: “We aware of this issue and working with TransDev to address it. TransDev is looking at a number of solutions, including additional bus routes during peak hours. As with any new service, minor adjustments are always to be expected. We will continue working with TransDev to ensure the best possible customer satisfaction.”

Not listening

"We are very interested in hearing from our passengers and local residents. We welcome your comments and questions. Please call our Customer Service Phone Line: 844-822-8920 Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

But commuters say the line is a recorded voicemail message that gets no response.

Airmont's Carol Walmsley drives to the Palisades Center to catch the bus to Tarrytown.

She said the schedule is guaranteed to make her bus late, leaving only 20 minutes to get from Hillburn to West Nyack, a ride that typically takes 30 minutes.

When she called to complain about the service, Walmsley said, she left a voicemail that was not returned. And her emails requesting confirmation of receipt get no response.

Fredricks said no one picks up the phone when she calls.

"We don't have anyone to talk to," she said. "The customer service, we leave message after message. I call in the morning. I call when I get to the office. Nobody answers the phone."

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On the first day of the Hudson Link bus service between Rockland and Westchester on Oct. 29, 2018, electronic screens displayed expected arrival times at Lot J at the Palisades Center.(Photo: Peter D. Kramer/The Journal News)

After repeated unreturned calls to customer service, Fredricks sent an angry email, asking if she should call the governor or the news media to report the problems "because you guys are not listening."

That did the trick.

"She called me that day. A woman named Andrea. Since then, we've been sending e-mails and (getting) not a single phone call. I sent an e-mail today. Nothing. She said 'I promise you tomorrow the 6:40 will be there.' This was last week. Thursday morning the 6:40 was there."

The next day? No 6:40.

South Nyack's Steinberger has had better luck than others, communicating regularly with TransDev's Caccuro.

When Thursday's 6:44 didn't show up in South Nyack, Steinberger emailed Caccuro.

"Hello Andrea: This morning there was no 6:44 a.m. bus pick up in South Nyack at all. The driver of the 6:57 pick up arrived on time and said the 6:44 is no longer running. Is this true? South Nyack. commuters like I need an option to Tarrytown between 5:31 and 6:57. Please help."

Caccuro replied: "That is not true. I will inquire about the 6:40 and what happened."

Later, Caccuro told The Journal News she had gotten to the bottom of that particular issue, which involved the route that is in use now (along Broadway) and the one that is on the horizon (down Franklin).

"There seemed to be a mix up with the bus driver following the future permanent route (drive down Franklin) and NOT the temporary route (on Broadway). We are investigating on how this happened. We have already spoken to the driver on this trip and every other trip on this route to make sure that they understand. As a precaution we are having an ambassador as Artopee Way speaking with every driver to ensure that they know to drive down Broadway."

A Hudson Link bus. The Hudson Link is a new bus system set to start running Oct. 29, 2018, run by the New York State Department of Transportation.(Photo: Submitted photo)

Not flexible

Fredricks, an engineer by profession, doesn't get it.

"I don't understand what the problem is," she said. "What is so hard for them to do? It worked before."

Even in the waning days of the Brega buses on the Tappan Zee Express, where Fredricks concedes that service was spotty, there was a flexibility that seems missing with Hudson Link. If the bus to Nyack didn't show up, the express bus that was heading to Lot J at the Palisades Center would be rerouted and made a local to accommodate Nyack commuters.

"Before, we could call and there was always always someone picking up the phone and they would call the buses to tell them to cover for the local," she said.

That's not happening any more. The people behind the wheel no longer have that flexibility.

"The drivers now say 'We're not doing it,'" Fredricks said.

No picnic getting home

The new commute, and the missed 6:40 bus, has meant that Fredricks' two-hour, door-to-door commute is now closer to three, from her Nyack home to bus to train to subway to Lower Manhattan. The return trip can be equally frustrating, she said.

"They have buses leaving Tarrytown for Nyack two minutes before the train arrives," Fredericks said. "The other day, the train was arriving and we could see the bus. We got off the train and the bus had already left."

Last Friday, at the end of the first week of service, Fredricks said a friend took the train out of Grand Central and arrived at Tarrytown at 6 p.m.

(The app lists Rockland bound buses at 5:55, 6:21 and 7:05 p.m.)

An hour later, "there was not a single bus" to Nyack, so her friend called her husband to cross the bridge to get her home.

"If this is trying to get us to commute more by bus to protect the environment, it's fine. But if they don't provide the service, more people will be driving to Tarrytown."

Steinberger doesn't want to complain. She just wants a commute she can count on. If there's supposed to be a 6:44 in South Nyack, it should be there, nine days out of nine.

"I'm providing feedback in the spirit of making things better and helping other South Nyack commuters, too," she said. "Many of the Nyack and South Nyack commuters work farther from GCT so are even more inconvenienced."